Blogs from North-West, Mali, Africa

AU REVOIR MALI...TIMBUKTU TO BAMAKO Last night in Timbuktu...last G & T before dinner...vodka...ah I've got two cans of Tonic I bought in Mopti when we loaded up for our pinasse "up the Niger in a leaky boat" to Timbuktu...hey this tonic water is dark brown...tastes erkk..yuk...what... its vitamin tonic..."Bottoms up...salut!" Leave for dinner...waiting for our lift...a young lad no older than 10 entertained us "I am little Tuareg... little Price"...he said as he unrolled a handkerchief and laid out his wares...charming the ladies as only a young Cassanova from Timbuktu can...so I sat back and watched him weave his Tuareg magic with the ladies (and the men)... "I have made an offer...you must make an offer to me...you have to make 3 offers"..."But I do not want to"..."You have to...I am little Tuareg, little Price...what ... read more

IMAGES OF MALI...FESTIVAL AU DESERT 2011...TIMBUKTU Our encampment is a large circle of tuareg goatskin tents covered in a red dye that brushes off on our clothes and skin...Den & I share with Mike & Ros. I erect my Socceroos flag next to the From Here 2 Timbuktu flag so our Aussie presence is proclaimed...and as it turned out notwithstanding we were 4 among a group of over 20, our encampment was often referred to by others as "the Aussies"...maybe it was our wedding on Day 2 (see next blog)...or maybe it was because we had just lost the Ashes and the Poms among us liked to rub it in...or maybe it was 'cause we had travelled the furthest to be here! Anyway our group was the best of the best...everyone got on well and ... read more

FACES OF MALI...TIMBUKTU Many faces partially obscured by the indigo turbans of the Tuareg..or smiling from them...the nomadic peoples of the southern Sahara Desert...strong faces...showing resolve, endurance and handsome all...Tuaregs arriving by camel to trade...but also Songhai (descendents of the Songhai Empire who once controlled the gold & salt trade) & Bozo (fishermen of the Niger) also wear turbans of many colours to protect from the unrelenting strong sun...Felani (nomadic herders & traders) in their distinctive dome hats... We are now in Timbuktu...that mythical location that does exist...and these people bear witness to that... Timbuktu...overtaken by the Sahara Desert...the city of 333 saints...repository for ancient manuscripts...where 3,000 rifles were burnt in 1996 to mark the end of the Tuareg rebellion in the Place de la Paix "the Flame of Peace"... read more

Goodbye to Mali - last day was 13th February, 2011 We had one day's rest back in Timbuktu after the festival and I spent a fair bit of time cleaning out our packs and trying to get rid of as much of the Sarah sand as possible and having a well earned shower and clean up. We decided to have a fancy dinner on our last night in Timbuktu and we were not disappointed. The special restaurant that we went to also had a very important diner who had a lot of protection and the two streets surrounding the restaurant were very protected by local police and lots of guns........(two Hi-Lux uteswith 50cal machine guns mouted in the back of each ute and plenty of armed soldiers as well),,,,not sure who the important person was but ... read more

Festival in the Desert - 6th to 9th Januray 2011. The first Festival in the Desert took place in January 2001 and was based on a traditional Tuareg gathering. The first of these festivals was a rambling open-air celebration of Tuareg culture, music and dance, as well as a stage for other Malian and international performances. The Tuareg people are the largest ethic group in Mali and are mainly found in the northern part of the country. They are nomadic people and for the festival they travelled several hundred kms with their camels - travelling at night and resting during the heat of the day. The festival is seen as a yearly opportunity to trade and make an income that would last them for the whole year. By 2004, the three day event had a fixed ... read more